The client’s team members pulled information from three systems into a myriad of spreadsheets to produce financial statements. And the translation and reconciliation of that data took a lot of time. For example, there were Funds in all three systems, but one system held actual and accrued revenues. Another held actual expenses. And the third stored revenues and expenses after allocations were applied in the spreadsheets. And the same Funds had different names and identifiers in each system.
The client’s accounting team was siloed and unfamiliar with master data management (MDM). When I performed the process assessment and documentation for the future ERP implementation project, this was an easy, obvious improvement that would significantly increase productivity.
I held several working sessions in which we determined the source of truth for Funds (and other master data) and designed the supporting processes. Then we had collaborative sessions with key groups (i.e., IT, Ops, AP, Finance), obtained their buy-in and finally got the approval from the CFO. During the new ERP implementation, the system integrations were built on these MDM principles and supporting processes.
Careers at 8020 Consulting
We take pride in nurturing long-term relationships with our team members and our clients. If you’re interested in working on our team of accounting and finance consultants, visit the careers section of our website to learn more about life at 8020. You can also put in an application for consideration by following the instructions at the bottom of the page:
Related Posts:
About Ellen
Ellen Vayner has 25 years of experience in management consulting and project management. She has worked with multiple multinational and cross-functional teams to achieve a variety of results, including several financial systems implementations, such as D365 F&O, D365 BC, NetSuite and Concur; the establishment of an invoice-to-cash process; an international manufacturing facility move; and streamlining operations and organizational structures for clients in various industries. She has worked with clients in entertainment, manufacturing, oil and gas, biotechnology, banking, consumer products, semiconductor and real estate, and her specialties include corporate strategy assessment and development, corporate and operational finance, business efficiency assessment, business case development, systems implementations and project management. She holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, attended London School of Economics as well as took courses at universities in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. She also holds a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.
